Monday August 30, 2010
U.S. general says Iraqis need time
BAGHDAD — The departing commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, said Sunday that a new Iraqi government could still be two months away. He warned that a stalemate beyond that could create demands for a new election to break the deadlock, which has lasted since March.
While Odierno said he thought negotiations had picked up and would prove successful, he predicted that politicians still need “four to six to eight weeks.”
“That’s a guess,” he said in an interview at his headquarters, “If it goes beyond 1 October, what does that mean? Could there be a call for another election? I worry about that a little bit.”
The prospect of another election would probably throw Iraq’s already turbulent politics into even greater turmoil as the United States begins withdrawing its last 50,000 troops, scheduled to be out by the end of 2011. While the election in March was viewed as successful, the periods before and after included bitter disputes over disqualifications, recounts, legal challenges and score-settling that exacerbated still smoldering sectarian tensions.
“The longer that takes, the more frustrated they might get with the process itself,” Odierno said of Iraqis. “What I don’t want is for them to lose faith in the system, the democratic system, and that’s the long-term risk: Do they lose faith in the process?”
U.S. officials had hoped to have a new government in place long before the Tuesday deadline, set by the Obama administration, to bring troop levels down to 50,000. But an effort to form a coalition between the two winning blocs — one led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the other by Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister — has proceeded only haltingly. Powerful groups within Iraq, and some of the country’s neighbors, remain deeply opposed to either man leading the country.
“If we get the government formed, I think we’re OK,” Odierno said. “If we don’t, I don’t know.”
Odierno will leave Iraq on Wednesday, after formally turning over command to Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100830/AP09/708309928
U.S. general says Iraqis need time
BAGHDAD — The departing commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, said Sunday that a new Iraqi government could still be two months away. He warned that a stalemate beyond that could create demands for a new election to break the deadlock, which has lasted since March.
While Odierno said he thought negotiations had picked up and would prove successful, he predicted that politicians still need “four to six to eight weeks.”
“That’s a guess,” he said in an interview at his headquarters, “If it goes beyond 1 October, what does that mean? Could there be a call for another election? I worry about that a little bit.”
The prospect of another election would probably throw Iraq’s already turbulent politics into even greater turmoil as the United States begins withdrawing its last 50,000 troops, scheduled to be out by the end of 2011. While the election in March was viewed as successful, the periods before and after included bitter disputes over disqualifications, recounts, legal challenges and score-settling that exacerbated still smoldering sectarian tensions.
“The longer that takes, the more frustrated they might get with the process itself,” Odierno said of Iraqis. “What I don’t want is for them to lose faith in the system, the democratic system, and that’s the long-term risk: Do they lose faith in the process?”
U.S. officials had hoped to have a new government in place long before the Tuesday deadline, set by the Obama administration, to bring troop levels down to 50,000. But an effort to form a coalition between the two winning blocs — one led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the other by Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister — has proceeded only haltingly. Powerful groups within Iraq, and some of the country’s neighbors, remain deeply opposed to either man leading the country.
“If we get the government formed, I think we’re OK,” Odierno said. “If we don’t, I don’t know.”
Odierno will leave Iraq on Wednesday, after formally turning over command to Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100830/AP09/708309928
